On Tuesday the Michigan
Legislature gave their approval to bills that would ban K2,
Spice, Bath Salts and other synthetic drugs. These bills would also give
the Department of Community Health the ability to declare health dangers when
other synthetic drugs become available. The bills are awaiting Governor
Snyder's signature and will take effect immediately.
For
those that are not familiar with it K2 is labeled as a herbal blend,
marketed for home incense, but it is being used for much different purposes and
could have potentially dangerous effects.
Although K2 is
sometimes marketed as synthetic marijuana, the effects can be 10 times more intense than those from marijuana. The dried
herbs come in 3-gram packages of various flavors, including "Blonde,"
"Pink," "Citron" and "Summit."
K2
samples test positive for
synthetic cannabinoids JWH-018 and JWH-073, developed in the
mid-1990s by Clemson
University researchers
conducting lab experiments on mice to test the compounds' effects on the brain.
Bath Salts
are a synthetic powder that is sold
online and in drug paraphernalia stores under a variety of names, such as
"Ivory Wave," "Purple Wave," "Red Dove,"
"Blue Silk," "Zoom," "Bloom," "Cloud
Nine," "Ocean Snow," "Lunar Wave," "Vanilla
Sky," "White Lightning," "Scarface," and
"Hurricane Charlie." They contain various amphetamine-like
chemicals, such as ethylenedioxypyrovalerone (MPDV), mephedrone and
pyrovalerone. These drugs are typically administered orally, by inhalation, or
by injection, with the worst outcomes apparently associated with snorting or
intravenous administration. .These chemicals act in the brain like stimulant
drugs (indeed they are sometimes touted as cocaine substitutes); thus they
present a high abuse and addiction liability.
Doctors and clinicians at U.S. poison centers have indicated
that ingesting or snorting "bath salts" containing synthetic
stimulants can cause chest pains, increased blood pressure, increased heart
rate, agitation, hallucinations, extreme paranoia, and delusions.
